Gaza, August 30: Israeli aircraft bombed a building in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Sunday which the military said had been used by Palestinians to enter a tunnel and carry out cross-border attacks in Israel.
The air strike, in which no one was hurt, took place in the early hours shortly after Hamas said unidentified Palestinians had set off explosive devices at two of its security compounds in Gaza City.
Baghdad, August 30: An Iraqi journalist imprisoned for hurling his shoes at former President George W. Bush will be released next month after his sentence was reduced for good behavior, his lawyer said Saturday.
Muntadhar al-Zeidi’s act of protest during Bush’s last visit to Iraq as president turned the 30-year-old reporter into a folk hero across the Arab world, as his case became a rallying point for critics who resented the 2003 U.S. invasion and occupation.
Baghdad, August 30: Two truck bombs struck separate communities north of Iraq’s capital on Saturday, killing at least 16 people in the latest attacks to indicate that insurgents are targeting relatively unprotected areas.
Iraqi security forces have focused on defending cities after the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from urban areas nearly two months ago. But a recent series of high-profile bombings has killed hundreds in remote areas as well as cities and has raised concerns Iraqi forces are not up to the task of protecting the population.
Berlin, August 30: Israel has accepted a German-mediated prisoner swap deal for captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit to which Hamas has yet to respond, Germany
weekly Der Spiegel said in its edition to appear Monday.
“The German secret services have recently been holding talks with the Israeli government and Hamas. The aim is to obtain the exchange of Gilad Shalit against several hundred Palestinian prisoners,” Der Spiegel said.
Baghdad, August 30: The Iranian foreign minister on Saturday called for Iraq’s neighbours to hold a meeting to discuss Iraqi security after Baghdad accused Syria of harbouring the planners of two massive bomb attacks.
Separately, Turkey’s foreign minister is to visit Iraq and Syria on Monday to try to soothe relations between the two.
Since 2003, tensions — prone to flare-ups since around the time Saddam came to power in 1979 — have centred on charges from Iraq’s U.S.-backed government that Syria, estranged from Washington, has allowed insurgents to stream into Iraq.
Tikrit, August 30: A spate of attacks across Iraq on Saturday killed 19 people, including a local politician and a child, and injured dozens, making it the country’s deadliest day since Ramadan began.
In the worst incident, five policemen and three civilians, including a 10-year-old child, died when a suicide car bomber targeted a police base in Al-Sharqat, north of Tikrit, officials said.
At least 20 people, 13 police among them, were wounded in the morning attack, the local police chief said.
Tehran, August 30: Iran’s new judiciary chief has sacked hardline Tehran prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi, who hunted down scores of journalists and dissidents in his term.
Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani appointed Abbas Jafari Dolat-Abadi as Tehran prosecutor of public and revolutionary courts, the officials IRNA news agency reported.
Jafari Dolat-Abadi was the justice chief in western Khuzestan province.
Mortazavi, 42, served as Tehran prosecutor since 2003. “He shut down 120 publications at his time,” Sarmayeh newspaper said.
Cape Canaveral, August 30: Space shuttle Discovery’s astronauts steered closer to the international space station for a Sunday linkup, while checking their ship for any signs of launch damage.
The routine survey began early Saturday evening and lasted until the wee hours of Sunday.
NASA officials say no fuel tank debris was observed hitting Discovery during Friday’s midnight liftoff. But the shuttle’s most vulnerable areas — the wings and nose — still needed to be inspected with lasers and cameras on a boom attached to the robot arm. The images were beamed down for analysis.
Ras Al Khaimah, August 30: Although many consumers in Ras Al Khaimah and other emirates have experienced some relief due to government’s efforts to curb any rise in prices of food products and basic commodities during Ramadan, scores of families in the remote areas of Sham in northern Ras Al Khaimah have complained of an increase in prices since the beginning of Ramadan.
Abu Dhabi, August 30: Nominations for the 5th Abu Dhabi Awards will open today and the recipients’ names will be announced at the Emirates Palace in December.
The deadline for nominations is September 27.
According to Abu Dhabi Awards Organising Committee member, Maryam Amiri, “By nominating we get the opportunity to give thanks to those among us whose work may otherwise go unnoticed. And through the act of expressing our appreciation, we can also inspire others to share their goodwill.”
Sharjah, August 30: The Ministry of Health will commission a new lab for conducting tests to confirm H1N1. The new lab, to be opened within two months, will be at the Al Qassimi Hospital in Sharjah.
Minister of Health, Dr. Hanif Hassan, announced this after signing an agreement for establishing a reference virology laboratory with Abdul Aziz Al Madfa, director of Citomed, a company specialised in medical equipment and laboratories.
Dubai, August 30: The United Arab Emirates has seized a cargo of North Korean weapons being shipped in breach of a UN embargo on arms exports from the communist state, according to Western diplomats.
The weapons, seized on the basis of the country’s own intelligence reports, included rocket launchers, detonators, munitions and ammunition for rocket-propelled grenades, they said. The Australian-operated ship, ANL-Australia, was flying a Bahamas flag.
Dubai, August 30: An anthology of selected poems written by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has been brought out in German by the Munich-based publishing house Carl H. Verlag.
The poems were published at the initiative of the well-known German poet and the chairman of Berlin Literary Festivals, Joachim Sartorius, as part of a series of poems from around the world, Wam said in a statement.
Mumbai, August 30: Priyanka Chopra is a little too committed to her work. The actress who was on a two week long vacation to an undisclosed location after six years of working without a break, had to cut short her vacation and return to Mumbai for a day to dub for Ashutosh Gowariker’s What’s Your Rashee?
Priyanka had left for her holiday last Wednesday after suffering from ill health for a long time. But she returned for just a day to dub for What’s Your Rashee?
Mumbai, August 30: A 12-year old film finally got completed this week, thanks to its leading man Akshay Kumar determination to not have a single film in the cans.
This week after completing a schedule of Sajid Khan’s Housefull Akshay Kumar sent Deepika Padukone packing and called producer-director Shabnam Kapoor to London to complete the long-pending Purab Ki Laila Paschim Ka Chaila, now called Helloo India.
Shabnam Kapoor flew to London and shot with Akshay Kumar for almost a week before he flew out to Italy on Thursday for the next schedule of Housefull.
Mumbai, August 30: Trash talk Queen Miss. Sawant is mulling over Shahid Kapoor in her upcoming flick Dil Bole Hadippa. The reason behind all the hulla-gulla is that Shahid had saved her life during the shoot of a song sequence Discowale Kishko…
In an interview Rakhi stated, “Today I’m alive, and that is just because of Shahid. I was about to meet with a fatal accident when he came to my rescue.”
Elaborating on the incident she chirps, “I was standing near a light stand after the shoot of a dance sequence, when suddenly Shahid sipping his coffee came up to me.
Mumbai, August 30: Quick Gun Murugun, which released yesterday, already has a problem on board. The lead actors, Rajendra Prasad and Rambha, are now sharing cold vibes.
This is after Rajendra told a newspaper in the south that Rambha plays a bar dancer in the film and that she has a minuscule role. She has, therefore, refused to promote the film with him.
Rambha was in Mumbai yesterday, promoting the film. But Rajendra’s absence was conspicuous.
Mumbai, August 30: The Vivah girl who has stolen many hearts with her performance opposite Shahid Kapoor; Amrita Rao, is all set to make her debut on small screen. She will be seen donning the seat of a judge in an upcoming reality show on Star Plus.
“Amirta has been finalized as the third judge in the show- The Perfect Bride. Accompanying her will be Shekhar Suman and Malaik Arora Khan, ” says our source.
Dubai, August 30: Beggars cashing in on others’ charity during Ramadan have made tens and even hundreds of thousands of dirhams, a senior Dubai Police officer said.
Brigadier Mohammed Rashid Al Muhairi, Director of the Tourist Security Department at Dubai Police, called on residents not to be duped by beggars even as the department intensifies a campaign to target them, arresting 57 during the first five days of Ramadan.
New Delhi, August 30: With several parts of the country already reeling under drought, there is more bad news.
Scientists in United States have found that groundwater levels in north Indian cities, including Delhi, are declining as much as one foot per year over the past decade.
Concerned over this trend, the scientists said this was due to “human activity” and warned that if measures were not taken, the region could witness collapse of agriculture output and severe shortage of potable water.
Mumbai, August 30: Reports that Shilpa’s dad has been applying to retrieve his passport from Surat (where the document is kept because of a pending court case) so he can be in London for his daughter’s wedding has Shilpa in splits.
“The passport is certainly not meant for my wedding, please! It’s not happening in October, November, December or any of the dates that have been fixed for my wedding in the media.
Dubai, August 30: The UAE will commission new labs to test for swine flu, even as the World Health Organisation warns of a severe form of the virus that goes straight to the lungs.
The Ministry of Health announced that it would commission a lab, to be opened within two months, at the Al Qassimi Hospital in Sharjah as part of a move to provide more testing centres because of the increasing number of H1N1 influenza cases in the country, including locally transmitted ones. Another is planned for Fujairah.
New Delhi, August 30: A Delhi court has reserved its order on framing of charges under stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crimes Act (MCOCA) against underworld don Babloo Srivastava and his aide Fazl-ur-Rehman for allegedly running organised crime syndicate in the national capital.
“Put up for orders on framing of charges on September 19,” Additional Sessions Judge J R Aryan, on the conclusion of arguments in the case, said.
Dubai, August 30: With only 10 days to go for the Dubai Metro to roll out, the city’s residents cannot wait to hop on board the world’s longest driverless train. Already, the trial runs have become show-stoppers for children, who cannot but resist asking their parents, when they will be taken for a ride.
For children, the Dubai Metro could be yet or just another new attraction of the city, like the Dubai Fountain or Zabeel Park. But for thousands of others, the opening of the metro on 090909 also marks the beginning of a new lifestyle.
New Delhi, August 30: Pulses traders are complaining of harassment by authorities briefed to crack down on hoarders and warned that they might stop importing the commodity compounding its shortage in the market.
“We have been informed by our members about serious harassment of importers in and around port areas, resulting in panic sales,” Pulses Importers Association President K C Bhartiya said in a statement.